Give the Kids a 1970’s Summer

07/08/2017 11:41
● Published by Sandy Kauten

As the whirlwind of the last few
weeks of school fly by, I find myself ready for the long, unscheduled days of
summer. Sleeping in, spending our afternoons poolside, and playing hide and
seek until the fireflies come out. Realistically, my idea of carefree summer
days come from my youth and not from the summers our own kids typically
experience. Camps, play dates, and ball games fill up most of our calendars
while any free time is consumed by parent-planned educational activities and
crafts seen on social media. While these things aren’t bad, it can be a little
daunting for parents due to the pressure to plan every minute of their child’s
summer.

I have declared this summer to be
different. My kids will have the kind of summer I had as a child. One that is
less scheduled and more free play, less video games and more outside time, and
less parent planned and more child created. If, like me, you are tired of
feeling pressure to entertain and educate your child every waking moment, use
these tips to enjoy your summer, 1970’s style.

Ditch the excess

Today parents often feel the need
to sign their kids up for as many camps, clinics, and activities as possible to
fill their days. In the 70’s, kids did not spend their days at baseball camp,
they played baseball with the neighbor kids in the backyard. They didn’t attend
theater and dance camps but instead made up their own show to perform for
parents and siblings. Give your kids the gift of free time to play and try
things on their own. If kids are away at camps all summer, they won’t have time
to create their own adventures.

Unplug

Today we love our electronics. It
is unlikely that many of us can make it more than a few hours without checking
in with social media and responding to emails and texts. Our kids are no different
but limits should be set on screen time to allow kids to experience outdoor
play, the joy of curling up with a good book, and allowed time to use their own
imaginations. 1970’s kids didn’t have apps, educational or not, to entertain
them and fill their days. Instead, they used their imagination to create
inventions with recycled trash, build forts with whatever they could find, and
cooperate with other kids to create games that could last for hours.

Go outside

“Go outside and come back
when it’s dinner time.” is what my parents would say nearly every afternoon
when I was growing up. There were no scheduled play dates, meet ups at the
park, or specific activities planned. If I wanted to go to the park, I would
ride my bike or walk there. If I wanted a friend to come along, I would swing
by their house on the way and knock on the door to see if they wanted to join
me. My parents had only a vague idea where I was or who I was with and this was
the norm. While many parents don’t feel quite as safe giving their child free
reign, we can learn from this attitude. Kids do not need us to plan and
intervene in their daily activities. Send them outside, have them go knock on a
neighbor’s door and ask them to join them. Play in the sprinkler, ride bikes,
draw with chalk, drink from the hose, learn to do cartwheels, jump rope, plant
flowers, or simply sit in the sun. Go outside and don’t come home until dinner.

Let it go

Parents today have so much pressure
to live up to unrealistic standards. We feel we must provide educational
crafts, plan interesting and affordable outings, provide well balanced
extracurricular activities, all while cooking healthy, organic food,
maintaining a clean house, a healthy marriage, and balance our careers
simultaneously. The truth is, none of us are able to keep up with it all. The
1970’s parent, while balancing many of the career and family obligations we
have today, did not put the type of pressure parents today place on themselves.
This summer, take a break from the pressures of social media, enjoy your kids,
join them outside, play a board game, have a movie night, lounge at the pool,
eat a little (or a lot of) junk food, and give yourself permission to let
things go and accept you can’t realistically keep up with everything anyway.

The key to giving your kids, and
yourself, a 1970’s summer is to unplug, enjoy, and ease up on the pressures we
place on ourselves. Let’s just enjoy our kids and enjoy every unscheduled
moment because, before you know it, it will be time to head back to school.